The Biden administration is contemplating sending military advisers and equipment
including weapons to Ukraine as Russia builds up forces near the border.
US officials are also working with allies regarding another possible Russian invasion.
The dialogues about the proposed lethal aid package are underway
as Ukraine has started to publicly apprise that an invasion could happen as soon as January.
As tension rise, a particular US-made weapon that is already in the hands of Ukrainian Ground Forces
is in focus - it's the FGM-148 Javelin Antti Tank Missile.
Retired Lt. Col. Cedric Leighton told CNN that Javelin Anti Tank missiles
"are quite effective against the T-80 tanks
which the Russians are actually employing in these efforts against Ukraine right now."
In this video Defense Updates analyzes how American made Javelin could lay waste
to Russian armored forces? Let's get started.
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In 2014, Russia took over Crimea.
Russia says its seizure of the territory was in response to the will of locals,
who voted overwhelmingly to join Russia in a hastily organized referendum in 2014
that was dismissed as illegitimate by the international community.
Since then, human rights groups have criticized a crackdown on freedom of speech in the region,
and the indigenous Crimean Tatar population has reported harassment and arrests.
The takeover provoked a wider military stand-off
in eastern Ukraine that hasn't ceased to date. Recently it became evident
that Russia is amassing troops and weaponry in Crimea and near its borders with Ukraine.
Viewers may note that Ukraine is currently an ally of NATO, but not a member.
Any Russian thrust inside Ukraine is expected to be led by Tanks like T-80
when it comes to battle on the ground and sets the stage for the Javelin offensive.
The FGM-148 Javelin is an American man-portable fire-and-forget anti-tank missile fielded to
replace the M47 Dragon anti-tank missile in US service. It uses automatic infrared guidance
that allows the user to seek cover immediately after launch, as opposed to wired guided systems,
like the Dragon, where the user has to actively guide the weapon throughout the engagement.
It is manufactured by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
The missile being highly portable is a key Anti Tank weapon.
The javelin system is most often carried by a two-person team consisting of a gunner
and an ammunition bearer, although it can be fired with just one person if necessary.
The Javelin missile is ejected from the launcher so that it reaches a safe distance
from the operator before the main rocket motors ignite – a "soft launch arrangement".
This makes it harder to identify the launcher;
back-blast from the launch tube still poses a hazard to nearby personnel. Via
the "fire-and-forget" system, the firing team may change their position as soon as the missile has
been launched or prepare to fire on their next target while the first missile is in the air
As a fire-and-forget missile, after launch,
the missile has to be able to track and destroy its target without the gunner.
The Javelin’s High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) warhead
is capable of defeating modern tanks by attacking them from above where armor is
generally thinner and is also useful against fortifications in a direct attack flight.
The tandem warhead is fitted with two shaped charges: a precursor warhead to
detonate any explosive reactive armor and a primary warhead to penetrate base armor.
It has a range of 4.75 km or around 3 miles.
In UK Vehicle Tests in June 2016, Javelin missile scored 100% in five test firings
from a UK-owned ground vehicle. Each Javelin flew distances between 1.2 and 4.3 kilometers
(0.75 and 2.67 miles) and hit the ground target each time. The UK's live-fire tests "confirm
Javelin's greater than 94 percent reliability rate and demonstrate Javelin's capability
to engage targets from increased standoff distances on various platforms"
According to Ukrainian military assessments provided to The Military Times,
Ukrainian defense officials have projected that Russia
could use the dozens of battalion tactical groups currently stationed near Ukraine's
borders to launch an attack from multiple sides, including from annexed Crimea.
While Russia had the element of surprise in its side in 2014, things are different now.
In 2018 Ukraine purchased 210 Javelin missiles and 37 launchers.
At the end of 2019, Ukraine announced it had signed contracts to purchase
another 150 missiles and 10 launchers. On June 21, 2020, they were sent to Ukraine
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week,
"Our concern is that Russia may make a serious mistake of attempting to
rehash what it undertook back in 2014, when it amassed forces along the border,
crossed into sovereign Ukrainian territory and did so claiming falsely that it was provoked"
Though it is unclear if Russia will initiate an invasion again,
one thing is for sure , if it does so, this time, the situation could turn ugly for Russian forces.